Rubber shock absorbing mechanisms for railway draft riggings



Sem. l5, 1956 v. s. DANIELSON 2,763,379

RUBBER SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISMS FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGINGS Filed April 9, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet L BWM SRM., 18, 1955 Y v. s. DANIELSON 2,763,379

RUBBER SHOCK ABSORBING MRCHANISMS FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGINGS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1954 5 TR A ATV/W Selm 318, 1956 v` s. DANu-:LsoN

RUBBER SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISMS FOR RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGINGS Filed April 9, 1954 3 Shea'ts-.Shet 3 United States Patent() heb RUBBER SHQK ABSORBING MECHANISMS FOR RAlLWALY DRAFT RIGGINGS Vernon S. Danielson, Chicago, Ill., assigner to W. H. Miner, Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application April 9, 1954, Serial No. 422,105

6 Claims. (Cl. 213-45) This invention relates to improvements in rubber shock absorbing mechanisms for railway draft riggings, and more particularly such a mechanism which is self contained and may be applied as a unit within the draft gear pocket of a railway car.

One object of the invention is to provide a shock' absorbing mechanism of the character indicated comprising a plurality of rubber cushioning units and a casing within which the units are arranged in stack or column formationv and are compressed against the back wall of the casing by a follower in the form of a plunger, telescoped Within the front end of the casing for movement lengthwise of the mechanism-l Another object of the invention is to provide a shock absorbing mechanism comprising a column of units, each composed of a pair of metal plates and a iiat rubber pad interposed between and bonded to the plates, and a casing housing the column of units, wherein the column is stabilized by a plurality of aligning follower plates which divide the column of units into groups and are held against edgewise displacement with respect to each other by the walls of the casing, and wherein the members of each group of units are held in alignment with each other by interengaged centering bosses thereon, and in alignment with said follower plates by interengagi-ng bosses on said units and follower plates.

A further object of the invention isto provide a` shock absorbing mechanism, comprising a casing, the top, bottom and side walls of which present lengthwise extending, interior guideways, a pressure transmitting plunger slidingly teleseoped within the front end of they casing, a column of yielding cushioning units within the casing, each composed of a pair of metal plates and an interposed rubber pad, which is vulcanized and bonded to the plates, wherein the column of units is stabilized by a plurality of aligning spacing follower plates which: divide the column of units into groups, the aligning follower plates being held against displacement inz both Vertical and horizontal directions, respectively, by being guided between the top, bottom, and side walls` of the Casing by peripheral flanges on said follower plates, the column of yielding cushioning units being compressible between the back wall of the casing and the pressure transmitting plunger..

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the' accompanying drawings forming a part of this specication,

Figure l is a side eleva-tional view of my improved mechanism.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of Figure l1, looking from left to right in said ligure.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal, vertical sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 3 3 of Figure 2, illustrating the rubber cushioning units in elevation.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the pressure transmitting plunger shown in Figures I and 3.

Figure 5 is an elevational view, looking from` left to 2. right in Figure 3 of the follower plate at the rear end of the casing.

Figure 6 is a plan view of the follower plate shown in Figure 5, looking upwardly in said figure.

Figure 7 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional view', corresponding substantially to the line 7-7 of Figure 2, showing the plunger, follower plates, and cushioning units in elevation.

Figure 8 is a transverse sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 8 3 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 7-7 of Figure 2, with the casing and other parts omitted, showing certain of the intermediate follower plates and associated rubber units, the latter being shown in elevation.

Figure l0 is an elevational view of one of the intermediate follower plates shown in Figure 9.

Figure' 1l is an edge View of the follower plate shown in Figure l0, looking upwardly in said figure.

Figure l2 is an enlarged broken View of a portion of Figure 9.

As shown in the drawings, my improved shock absorbing mechanism comprises broadly a casing A, a pressure transmitting plunger B, a plurality of rubber cushioning units C-C, a plurality of aligning follower plates D--Df-D-D-E and a rear follower plate F.

The casing A is in the form of a rectangular boxli'ke member having longitudinally extending, vertically spaced, top and bottom walls 10 and 11, and longitudinally extending, laterally spaced, vertically disposed side walls 13-I3. The rear end of the casing A is closed by a removable end wall 15. The top and bottom walls 1i? and 1I of the casing A are indented to provide longitudinally extending, interior, top and bottom guides 16 and 17', the top guide 16 being in the form of' a depression of the wall IG, and the bottom guide 17 being in the form of an elevation of the wall 11. The guides I6 and 17 present `substantially flat, longitudinally extending guide surfaces, whichare parallel. These ilat surfaces of' thev guides 16 andl17 extend from the front end to within a short distance of the rear end of the casing A and are of substantial width. The vertical side walls 13--13 of the casing A present substantially flat, longitudinally extending, vertically disposed, interior surfaces from end to end of said casing, forming parallel opposed side guides 18-18, for a purpose hereinafter pointed out. At the rear end of the casing- A, thel top and bottom walls are provided with inturned, transversely extending, top and bottom retaining flanges 19-19 for the wall 15.

The wall 15 is in the form of a thick plate having an outer' portion of reduced height, thereby providing an innen section which protrudes above and' below the reduced portion to present top and bottom stop anges 2.0-2t, which are engaged in back of the retaining anges 19-19 of the casing A to lock said wall against outward movement. The total overall height of the wall 15 is such that the same, when in inclined position, may be readily passed between the flanges 19-19 into the rear end of the casing A.

Thetop and bottom walls 10 and 11 and the side walls 13-13 of the casing A, inwardly of the rear end thereof, have key receiving openings 21-21 extending therethrough, for a purpose hereinafter pointed out, the walls 10 and 11 being provided with vertically aligned pairs 21-21 and 21.*-21 of such openings, and the walls lf3-4.3 with one transversely aligned central set 21-21.

At the forward end of the casing A, which end is open, are provided top, bottom, and side, inturned stop flanges 22-22-22, which provide means with which the plunger B cooperates for limiting outward movement of the latter and holding the mechanism assembled.

The pressure transmitting plunger B is of substantially rectangular, transverse cross section and comprises an elongated front end section 24, which protrudes from the front end of the casing A, and an integral follower platelike rear end section extending outwardly beyond the top, bottom, and two sides of the plunger, thus providing stop shoulders 25-25-25-25, which are engageable in back of the flanges 22 at the front end of the casing A to limit outward movement of the plunger B and thus hold the mechanism assembled. Figures 3 and 7 show the plunger B moved slightly inwardly, which is the position assumed when the mechanism is operatively mounted for service within the draft gear pocket of the car. In this position there is substantial clearance between the stop shoulders 25 of the plunger B and the iianges 22 of the casing A, the shoulders 25 being spaced rearwardly from the flanges 22. As shown, the plunger B is tapered outwardly and has a ilat front end face which is engaged by the front follower, indicated in dotted lines in Figure 7, of the usual draft rigging. The follower plate section of the plunger B has two sets of laterally projecting, angular, peripheral flanges 26--26 and 26-26 on the inner side, extending from diagonally opposite corners of said plate section. In other words, the flanges 26--26 and 26--26 have lbiased edges, or are cut away at an angular inclination, as shown most clearly in Figures 3, 4, and 7 so that the flanges 26-26 of the respective sets have their peaks at diagonally opposite corners of the plate section and decline toward the remaining two corners of said plate section. On the inner side of this plate section, that is, the rear end face of the plunger B, are provided centering seats 27--27 for a purpose hereinafter set forth.

The rubber cushioning units C are all of the same design, each unit comprising a pair of substantially rectangular metal plates 28 and 29 and an interposed ilat rubber pad or mat 30, which is vulcanized and bonded to the inner sides of the plates. The pad 30 of each unit C corresponds in surface area and outline to the plates 28 and 29 and has the edge faces thereof formed concavely or grooved, as indicated at 130, to accommodate the flow of the material of the pad as the same is compressed, thereby preventing the material of the pad from being squeezed outwardly to an extent to bulge beyond the edges of the plates 28 and 29 and be thus subjected to the danger of being damaged. The grooves 130 are of outwardly Haring, transverse cross section, having the side walls thereof slightly curved concavely, and the inner back walls rounded concavely on relatively short radius and merging with the flaring side walls. When the unit C is fully compressed in service, that is, compressed to a predetermined maximum extent, the edges of the pads 30-30 will lie substantially flush with the edges of the metal plates 28 and 29 of the same. The plates 28 and 29 of each unit C are of similar design, each having hollow centering bosses 31 thereon. As shown in Figure 12, the hollow centering boss of the plate 28 is engaged within the hollow boss 31 of the plate 29 of the adjacent unit. The interposed rubber pad 30 of each unit has centering projections 32 on one side engaged in the hollows of the bosses 31 of the plate 28 at the corresponding side of said unit and indentations or seats 33 on the opposite side engaged by the protruding portions of the hollow bosses 31 of the other plate of said unit.

AAs shown in Figures 3 and 7, the resilient column of vmy improved mechanism comprises a plurality of units C-C which are arranged in groups separated by the `spacing follower plates D and the follower plate E, the groups being six in number and each group comprising a set of two units C-C. The two units of each set are held in aligned condition by the hollow centering projections or bosses 31-31 of the plates 28 and 29 of adjacent units, which are engaged with each other. As illustrated in Figures 3 and 7, the pressure transmitting plunger B bears on the group of units C-C at the left hand end of the column, the follower plate F bears on the group of units at the right hand end of the column, and the spacing follower plates D and E are alternated with the groups of units, the follower plates D being four in number, and the plate E being interposed between the two rear groups of units.

The follower plate E is similar to the plunger B, having two sets of angular flanges 34-34 and 34-34 on its inner or front side at diagonally opposite corners, similar in design and arrangement to the anges 26-26 and 26-26 of the plunger B, but rotated to a position in which the inclined edges of the respective flanges of said plunger B and plate E are in parallel relation, as shown in Figures 3 and 7. On the inner side thereof, the follower plate E is provided with centering projections or bosses 35-35, which are engaged in the centering seats presented by the bosses 31-31 of the plate 29 of the adjacent cushioning unit C in front of said plate E. At the rear side, the follower plate E presents centering seats 36-36 within which are engaged the centering bosses 31-31 of the plate 28 of the adjacent unit C, which is in back of said follower plate.

The spacing follower plates D are all of the same design, each plate being of substantially rectangular shape and having two sets of angular flanges 37-37 and 37-37 on one side and two sets of angular ilanges 38-38 and 38-38 on opposite sides thereof. The anges 37-37 and 37-37 extend from two diagonally opposite corners of the plate and have Abiased edges, or are cut away at an inclination, as shown most clearly in Figures 10 and ll, so that the angular flanges 37-37 of the respective sets have their peaks at two diagonally opposite corners of the plate and decline toward the two remaining diagonally opposite corners, and the angular flanges 38-38 and 38-38 at opposite sides of said plate extend from said last named diagonally opposite corners and have biased edges, or are cut away at an angle or inclination, having their peaks at said last namedcorners and declining toward the remaining two diagonal corners. Each spacing plate D also has centering projections 39-39 on one side and seats 40-40 on the opposite side, the projections 39-39 of said plate being engaged within the hollow bosses 31-31 of the plate 29 of the adjacent unit C at one lside of said spacing plate D, and the seats 40-40 receiving the projecting portions of the centering bosses 31-31 of the plate 28 of the unit C adjacent the other side of said plate D.

In the assembled condition of the mechanism, the plunger B, spacing follower plates D--D-D-D, and the follower plate E `are arranged so that the angular flanges thereof are interspaced to extend past each other in overlapped condition with the biased edges thereof in parallel relation. The dividing plane between `the two abutting plates of each group of units C-C is thus overlapped by the anges of the spacing follower plates D-D at opposite ends of said group.

When -assembled within the casing A, the plate section of the plunger B and the follower plates D-D--D- D-E are snugly embraced between the guides formed by the spaced top, bottom, and spaced side walls of the casing A so .that the plate section of the plungerV B and the plates D-D-D-D and E have a sliding fit within the casing A and are guided by their peripheral flanges, these anges thus holding vthe follower and spacing plates of the column against edgewise displacement with respect -to each other, and the column of units C-C against buckling or relative displacement in edgewise direction with respect to each other. In .this connection it should be noted that the provision of angular or biased anges of the character illustrated affords extended bearing contact of the flanges with the cooperating guide surfaces for the plates, thereby completely eliminating the danger of the plates being tilted during operation of the mechanism in service, which tilting would be detrimental to the proper operation of the mechanism.

The follower plate F comprises a relatively thick, platelike main `body portion of substantially rectangular outamasar extending therefrom; The yfront side of the platelike main body' portion of the follower plate Fis provided with centering' projections 42-42 which .are engaged in the bosses 3131 of the plate 29 at the rear end ofthe associated ygroup of units C. As shown in Figures 3 and; 7, the' flange 41 of the follower plate F is of such a length that it completely overlaps the unit C immediately in front of it and also part of .the next unit The rear side of the platelike main body portion of the follower plate F is substantially flat and" bears truly on the hat front side of the end wall l of the casingA.A

The portions of the ange 41 of the follower plate F, which are located at the top, bottom, and sides of said follower plate, are provided with key receiving openings 43-433 43--43, and 43-43, which extend therethrough and are adapted to receive locking keys for holding the follower against movement while the end wall 15 is applied .to the casing A, the follower plate F being moved inwardly to align the openings 43-43 with the openings 21-21 of the casing A to receive keys, not shown, provided for this purpose. The follower plate F is held against lateral and vertical movement by being snugly embraced by the side walls of the casing A and the front ends of the ange 41 at vthe top of said plate, overlapping the top and bottom guides 16 and 17 as shown in Figure 3.

'In assembling the mechanism, the casing A is placed in upright position with its front end resting on any suitable support, such as an anvil having an opening to accommodate .the outer end of the plunger B. With the casing thus positioned, the plunger B, andthe six groups of two cushioning units C*C each and the follower plates D-D- D-D-E and F are placed within the casing through the open rear end thereof. The mechanism is then compressed by any suitable tool engaged with the follower plate F and the latter forced inwardly of the casing A until the key receiving openings 43-43 of the follower plate F are aligned with the openings 21-21 of the casing A. The follower plate F is then locked to the casing by engaging the keys through the openings 21-21 and 431-43. The tool is then withdrawn and the end wall 15 applied 'to the casing by inserting the same into the rear end of the casing while tilted suiciently to clear the top and bottom flanges 19--19 of said casing. After the bottom flange 20 of the end wall 15 has been brought inwardly clear of the bottom flange 19 of the casing, the end wall 15 is permitted to drop onto the follower plate F and assume a horizontal position. Inward or downward pressure is then applied to the follower plate F through the wall 15, thereby relieving the pressure on the keys, which are then removed. After the follower plate F has been thus unlocked, the downward pressure is gradually withdrawn from the wall 15, permitting the latter to be forced outwardly by the expansive action of the rubber units C-C of the cushioning means, until the flanges 20--20 of the wall 15 engage the flanges 19-19 of the casing A to lock the wall 15 to the casing against outward movement. As installed in the oar, my improved mechanism is under a predetermined amount of initial compression, as shown in Figures 3 and 7, the plunger B being held in the slightly inwardly displaced position shown, by the usual front follower of the draft rigging.

The operation of my improved shock absorbing mechanism is as follows: During compression, the plunger B is Yforced inwardly of the casing, compressing the resilient column of rubber units C-O Exceptionally high cushioning resistance is produced during this action, due to the high shock absorbing capacity of the rubber units C-C, which have the rubber pads vulcanized and bonded to the metal plates, the capacity of units having the pads thus vulcanized and bonded to the plates being greatly increased over the capacity of units of similar construction not having the pads vulcanized and bonded to the plates. The capacity is such that the mechanism does not go solid'. In other words, the front follower of' the dra-ft rigging doesnot go solid against the-casing A at any time in service, the pressure being at all times transmitted to and through the column of rubber units.

When the actuating force .is reduced, the resilient rubber unit-s1 C-C expand inv direction lengthwise of the mechanism, thus forcing the plunger B` outwardly, returningl the same to the full release position shown in Figures 31 and 7,1 outward movement of the plunger B being arrested, with the shoulders 25--25 thereof spaced rearwardly from the flangesZZ--ZZ of the casing Ar.

In this connection it is pointedout that: the provision of interengaging centering projections and seats of the units C--C and of the plunger B1 and follower plates D-D-D-D-E and? F hold these follower platesand? the uni-ts composing the resilient column in aligned relation, and that the follower plates D-D"-D-D-E and F' hold the column of units against sn-aking or buckling, which might otherwise occur due to' the inherent plastic character of rubber, these follower plates being positively guided and held against` both lateral and vert-ical displacement.

I claim:

C l. The combination with a draft gear for railway draft rigging having a casing containing planar top, bottom, and side walls in which casing is disposed a resilient column composed of units arranged in several groups of a plurality of units each, which units have interengaged centering means; of stabilizing means for said column comprising rectangular metal plates separating the groups of units; centering means on said plates interengaged with the centering means on the adjacent units; a ange on each edge of each plate disposed normally to the faces thereof, each flange being inclined from a high point above one face of the plate at one end of the edge to a high point above the other face of the plate at the other end of that edge, said flanges having sliding engagement with the walls of the casing to stabilize the column.

2. Column stabilizing means as specited in claim l in which the llanges on the adjacent edges of the plates extend from common .high points above one face of the plate at diagonally opposite corners thereof to common high points above the other face of the plate at the intervening diagonal corners.

3. Column stabilizing means as specified in claim 2 in which the flanges are of parallelogram configuration.

4. An aligning follower for a shock absorbing resilient column which is composed of a plurality of rectangular resilient units disposed face to face, comprising: a rectangular plate disposed between adjacent ones of said units; interengaged centering means on said plate and units; two pairs of triangular flanges upstanding from one face of the plate to heights greater than the thickness of the adjacent unit at diagonally opposite corners of the plate and extending therefrom along the adjacent edges of the plate and becoming flush with said one face at the intervening diagonally opposite corners of the plate; two other pairs of triangular flanges upstanding from the other face of the plate to heights greater than the thickness of the adjacent unit at the last mentioned diagonal corners of the plate and extending therefrom along the adjacent edges of the plate and becoming ilush with the other face of the plate at the first mentioned diagonal corners thereof, the triangular anges in each of said pairs of flanges being integral with each other and with the plate and being disposed normal to the faces of the plate; and guide means with which said flanges have sliding engagement for maintaining said column aligned.

5. An aligning follower for a shock absorbing resilient column which is composed of a plurality of rectangular resilient units disposed face to face, comprising: a rectangular plate disposed between adjacent ones of said units; interengaged centering means on said plate and units; triangular flanges upstanding from one face of the plate at diagonally opposite corners of the plate and extending therefrom along the adjacent edges of the plate to the intervening diagonally opposite corners thereof; triangular flanges upstanding from the other face of the plate at the latter corners and extending therefrom along the adjacent edges of the plate to the rst mentioned corners, said triangular flanges together forming uniform width flanges on the edges of the plate that are disposed normal to the plate and inclined with respect to the faces thereof; and means with which said flanges having sliding engagement for maintaining said column aligned.

6. In a draft gear for railway draft rigging, a resilient column disposed with its axis horizontal and composed of units arranged in groups of a plurality of units each; aligning followers alternated with the groups, each comprising a plate disposed between the units; triangular flanges projecting forwardly from diagonally opposite corners of the plate and disposed normal thereto; triangular flanges projecting rearwardly from the intervening diagonal corners of the vplate and disposed normal thereto; a pressure transmitting plunger at the front end of the column; rearwardly extending triangular flanges on said plunger projecting from the diagonally opposite corners thereof that are aligned with said intervening diagonal corners; and guides with which said flanges have sliding engagement for stabilizing the column as the same is compressed by forces acting through said plunger.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 775,216 Graham Nov. 15, 1904 1,865,803 Tucker July 5, 1932 1,897,288 Whitmore Feb. 14, 1933 2,001,855 Spencer May 21, 1935 2,486,741 Gabriel Nov. 1, 1949 2,535,197 Dath Dec. 26, 1950 2,588,488 Dath Mar. 11, 1952 2,656,935 Danielson Oct. 27, 1953 

